


The Call

by plainboxes



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Scene, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-08
Updated: 2013-09-22
Packaged: 2017-12-26 00:31:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/959423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plainboxes/pseuds/plainboxes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the party, Magnus tells Alec to call him. Alec doesn't quite know what that's supposed to mean...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I used "Kissed" by Cassandra Clare as a direct reference. Hence, there are similarities in the settings and even some of the words. This takes place right after the party that Alec attends.
> 
> Disclaimer: All characters and the setting belong to Cassandra Clare.

The warlock’s party was unexpectedly... Alec couldn’t really put a word to it. It was loud, full of people and unnecessarily colourful. Really, the colours didn’t quite seem to match very well but if that was the host’s tastes, then so be it.

He had imagined the warlock to be some middle aged man who dressed weirdly and spoke funny, but when he had actually seen the man- well.

Warlock Bane was undeniably good-looking. Not the way Jace was, though. Jace was sexy and he knew it, flaunting it the moment he could, but Magnus… He couldn’t quite explain it. Bane wore clothes bright and distinctly clashing in colour, but he could do so with such impact and confidence that Alec didn’t think was possible. He didn’t have to deliberately flaunt anything, he just was.

The warlock was hot. Sort of. Really good looking. Even from a distance, he was sure the man could be picked out from a random crowd easily. He was really noticeable.

Alec quickly averted his eyes as he realized that he had been blatantly staring. Warlocks were part demon and human, and they probably had heightened senses. He couldn’t let the warlock know he had been staring! If Warlock Bane hadn’t noticed by then, then that was good. It would have been doubly embarrassing. What was he doing, checking a guy out so obviously?

Throughout the party and the talk, Alec tried to act as indifferent as possible and avoid the warlock’s eyes at all costs. It was already difficult enough trying to hide the blush and the urge to just stare at the man, and talking to him would definitely lead to his demise. Warlock Bane had a great voice, that was for sure. It was a delightful thing to listen to, and there was no doubt he would easily be hypnotized by that voice.

 

* * *

_“Call me.”_

Alec may be unlearned in the art of flirting, but even he couldn’t miss the suggestive wink the warlock had directed at him.

He was bewildered, for a moment, unable to respond except stare at the warlock for the second time that night and quickly duck his head, trying to hide his blush.

Why? Why him? He was just plain old Alec. Alec who wasn’t as experienced at killing demons as Jace, nor halfway near as attractive. Alec who liked Jace, but couldn’t help feeling self-conscious at the fiery gaze Magnus had trained on him.

As Jace dragged him away and Isabelle eyed him suspiciously, he couldn’t ignore the burning in his cheeks and the pounding in his chest which he, for the life of him, couldn’t understand.

He liked Jace, that was for sure. But this thing with Warlock Bane was equally hard to ignore.

* * *

 

It was hard to sleep that night. His mind was filled with the warlock’s house, the distinct, contrasting colours, the Downworlder who had dared to pinch his behind, and… the man himself. And then there was also Isabelle’s talk with him about the warlock. (He did not like the man, for goodness sake! Who couldn’t appreciate a nice looking man anyway! But Isabelle had also said that the man might like him…)

Alec had never really talked to or met a real warlock before. He’d heard brief recounts by his parents as a child, all about how terrifying and unlikeable warlocks were. Part human, part demon, the demonic side often took over young warlocks if the human side was too weak, and the end result did not paint a very pretty picture. Death always loomed about them and while they were useful to have alliances with during wars, nobody dared to stay too close to them. There was no knowing what would come out of this companionship.

Aside from the image of a middle-aged looking man that would bare his fangs or poison all his guests at the party, Alec didn’t know what to expect. All of the stories had painted a relatively negative picture of all warlocks, and warlock Bane was frighteningly different.

No, he corrected himself, Warlock Bane wasn’t actually frightening, it was more of surprise. The warlock was surprisingly different. He was sparkly and fashionable andloud, and his personality a random splash of colour. He was polar opposites with Alec, who was comparatively more quiet and studious, and didn’t like drawing attention.

That brought him to the matter of the two words the warlock had uttered, leaving him confused.

“Call me”, the warlock had said, and there was that suggestive wink that made him wonder if spontaneous human combustion was actually possible. But the problem at hand was that Warlock Bane had told him to call him, and Alec didn’t quite know what the warlock would want him to call for.

Call to talk? They were mere acquaintances and couldn’t really be considered friends, even more so when Jace had probably ruined his night.

Call? What for?

Alec took out his notebook and begun listing down things that Magnus probably wanted to talk to him about, or else _what other reason was there to ask a complete stranger to call them._

The list didn’t make sense.

Or maybe it was just Alec’s lack of social skills with people aside from his family. He seldom used his cellphone for anything other than receiving messages from his siblings to **_meet at Taki’s right now._** That was pretty much it.

What did people talk about on the phone, anyway? It didn’t seem as much fun as actually seeing the person face to face.

“Well then,” Alec muttered, surprised at the conclusion he had come up to. It was 2am in the morning and he couldn’t care less about his lack of sleep that night. Curiosity couldn’t wait for once. And he was also sort of… hoping to see the warlock.

* * *

 

So apparently warlocks did sleep, even if they were half demons, and it was a known fact that demons didn’t need sleep.

Alec had made his way to the warlock’s house, which was currently extremely quiet and dark. It was a given, of course, seeing how the party was obviously over and _it is in the middle of the night Alexander Gildeon Lightwood what are you doing in front of someone’s house and preparing to wake an acquaintance up when they are obviously asleep._

But then the little voice in Alec’s brain told him it’s now or never, and if he didn’t press the buzzer right now he would never be able to speak to the gorgeous warlock and maybe possibly if he played his cards right he could be friends with him.

He stood in the stairwell of the warlock’s home, staring intently at the name written under the buzzer on the wall in elegant script. BANE. The name was simple and that didn’t quite seem to fit the man. He didn’t seem to be a Bane person. He could be a something else, just not Bane. Bane just didn’t seem to suit him.

Alec took a deep breath, seeing how long he could hold it before letting it out. His pulse suddenly increased in speed, his heart in his throat as he hesitated. He couldn’t back out now, not that he was right there and he shouldn’t let this conversation get any later than it already was.

A trembling finger lightly touched the buzzer, and seeing that it hadn’t rung with too light a touch, he gulped once and decisively pressed it.

And suddenly Alec regretted everything. Going for the party, walking all the way to the warlock’s place, his decision to come here and press the buzzer and _what in the world had compelled him to do such a thing_ it was mortifying. He was ready to run, really, he shouldn’t be here WHY DID HE PRESS IT he-

“WHO DARES DISTURB THE HIGH WARLOCK OF BROOKLYN?”

Alec almost jumped back in his surprise, the voice booming through.

“Hi,” he squeaked back hurriedly, before he realized that wasn’t the most appropriate answer. “I’m, u-um, Lightwood. Alec. Alexander Lightwood, I mean.” Perhaps it wasn’t in his best interests to appear in front of the warlock right now. He didn’t seem to be in a very hospitable mood right now, considering the annoyed tone.

The slight silence that followed was equally disconcerting. Was he really not welcome?

And then, with a ping, the second door opened, letting him out onto the stairwell. He headed up the creaky stairs into the darkness, and right across he could see the second floor landing bright, the door open and wide open. The warlock was staring at him intently as he stood by the doorway.

It was really quite different from the impression that he had given Alec earlier, at the party. Warlock Bane was less wild now, in comparison. While his hair was still spiky (which Alec didn’t think was very comfortable, especially to sleep in), the glitter wasn’t really there now, and his hear was a bit messed up. He must have been asleep, Alec considered guiltily. He now wore a black shirt with gold lettering stating DO OR BE DONE (which Alec didn’t quite understand the meaning of, because what the hell did a person do and what was there to be done?!) and jeans that hung too low on his hips for Alec to feel comfortable looking at.

“Alexander Lightwood,” the man stated, the words rolling off his tongue slowly, as if he were savoring each syllable.  “And to what do I owe the pleasure?”

Alec tried to look past him, into his apartment. “Do you have company now?”

“What for?”

“I was hoping maybe I could, um, speak to you. For a bit. Not very long. Or we could talk here, if you want.” Alec was getting more nervous now. Maybe he really, _really_ shouldn’t have come at all.

The warlock eyed him steadily, his cat-like eyes raking him up and down. The eye contact kind of unnerved Alec, causing him to direct his gaze to something- _wow_ _he has such nice biceps._

“Come in.” came the smooth reply and Alec’s feet brought him into the apartment

The loft looked quite different without the throngs of bodies in it. It had a more homely feel to it, while the colours were as distracting and incompatible as ever.

The warlock carelessly gestured to a grand-looking sofa with exquisite details carved into the wooden armrest. Alec silently complied with his request, taking a seat opposite him.

“Tea?” the warlock asked, and Alec shook his head. He didn’t intend to stay long and it wasn’t polite to ask for tea when he wasn’t really planning to drink it. “Right. So what would you like to talk about?”

Alec took a large breath. “Warlock Bane-“

“Magnus,” he interrupted. “Call me Magnus.”

Alec’s eyes widened. It sounded rude and a bit too intimate, but if that was what he wanted… “M-Magnus, then,” he shakily began.”Whydidyoutellmetocallyou?”

“Sorry?”

Alec cleared his throat again, his face colouring. “Why did you tell me to call you?” he half-whispered, voice trailing off towards the end.

Those cat-like eyes stared at him intently. “Sorry?”

“After the party, you told me to call you.” Alec chanced a glance up at Magnus. “Why? Did you need something from me? Or did I do anything wrong? If I did, I’m really sorry! I don’t know what I did, but it wasn’t my intention to offend you in anyway. I hope you’ll accept my-” He knew he was rambling on and maybe he didn’t quite make much sense, but he couldn’t help the words all tumbling out of his mouth, all of a sudden.

He was again interrupted by a great, barking laugh, Magnus now showing off his beautiful pearly-whites. He didn’t quite understand why, and could only stare at the warlock blankly as he waited for him to explain the reaction.

Magnus’ eyes twinkled as they came to focus on Alec. “Really, have you never been hit on before?”

Alec looked blank.

“Has anyone ever attempted to make sexual advances towards you before? That’s the dictionary definition I used there, alright, I assume you at least know what I’m talking about right now. No?”

“W-what?” Alec sputtered, face changing to one of mortification, and he ducked his head. He couldn’t help the blush now travelling from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. How much more obvious can you get, Alexander Lightwood! Alec scolded himself. Damn it, now Magnus knew… how embarrassing could that be!

“I assume you haven’t then,” Magnus chuckled. “A shame, really.”

“Why would it be a shame?” Alec enquired curiously, his gaze now fixed on the gold letterings on Magnus’ shirt.

Magnus tsked. “Are all Shadowhunters so closed in nowadays? Isn’t that era already over?”

“Well, excuse me for not understanding your weird Downworlder language!” Alec retorted, nerves slightly eased. “I’m not really that interesting, anyway. Why would people want to make those type of advances towards me?” He was no Jace, no Isabelle, and while he did crave Jace’s company sometimes, thinking that someone might want him was a rather scary thought.

“You really don’t realise your charm, do you, Alec?” Magnus stood up and slowly stalked over, eyes on Alec’s all the time. The staring was a bad thing, Alec concluded. He was becoming self-conscious again, instinctively looking down at his own shoes. Which were extremely interesting.

“Alec.” Magnus almost purred, placing his palm on Alec’s cheek and bringing his chin up, the stark contrast between the burning skin and Magnus’ hand making Alec wish he wouldn’t do that. He didn’t need to be reminded of his frequent blushes in front of the man. “You… you are enthralling.”

Alec didn’t know what to say. Especially not when those hypnotizing, beautiful eyes were on his. He wasn’t enthralling, but he didn’t dare speak a word, for fear his voice would come out cracked and wrong and ruin whatever was going on right now.

“Fascinating. Beautiful.” Magnus placed his other palm on Alec’s other cheek, his thumb gently stroking the corner of his left eye. “But you don’t know that, do you?”

Really. Spontaneous human combustion. Shadowhunter combustion. Or a surprise attack by a demon. _Something_ had to happen right now. His heart was ready to pump itself out of his chest by now, the blush now extending to his neck. His two palms were flat against the sofa surface, clutching slightly to help him root himself to something in case he did something stupid.

Alec didn’t know what to do with himself at this point in time. His eyes darted around nervously, trying his hardest not to look at Magnus and his closeness, or take in his deep, earthy scent that probably came from really expensive cologne and something Alec would never be able to afford. Not that he wanted to.

“You’re not what I expected at all.” Magnus said after a moment, not making any movement except for the gentle stroking, which was unexpectedly comfortable.

“From a Shadowhunter?” Alec breathed, trying to focus his muddled thoughts on Magnus’ words, rather than his closeness.

“A Lightwood.”

“You knew my ancestors?”

Magnus grinned. “As a matter of fact, I did. I do. Your sister, Isabelle-“

Now it was Alec’s turn to interrupt. “She said you liked me. You might. I mean.”

“Hmm?” Magnus raised a single eyebrow. It was an interesting skill, Alec considered. He hadn’t seen anyone able to do it before.

“My sister. Izzy. She told me you liked me. Like, _like_ me.” Alec looked at him curiously. “Do you?” he blurted out.

“What are we, twelve? Couldn’t you have tried to phrase it in a more sophisticated way? Such as, ‘My sister, Isabelle, told me you might be romantically interested in me. Are you?’ That sounds a lot better, doesn’t it?” Magnus lifted one of his palms off Alec’s cheek, choosing to use it to brush through his hair. “I don’t remember telling Isabelle anything,” he replied, amused.

“Jace thinks so too. He told me.” Alec knew he was being embarrassingly blunt here, but it was in his personality. He couldn’t help it when his mind was practically short-circuiting.

“Well then, when we talk about Lightwoods, what comes to mind is a family of sly, cunning and plotting shadowhunters.” Magnus ignored Alec’s previous response. “You, on the other hand, are something else altogether. You seem to be the sort to be very direct.”

Alec blinked. “So. Do you want to go out?”

“Straight to the point, just as I thought.” Magnus laughed. Alec chewed his lower lip, half indignant and half self-conscious.

“Why do you want to go out with me?” Magnus asked.

“I just do,” Alec answered quietly. “I mean, I thought that if you liked me, like Jace and Izzy said, then it might be nice if-‘ he cut himself off, making a noise in his throat in frustration and buried his face in his hands. “Maybe I should go,” he muttered.

“Does everyone know you’re gay?” Magnus’ tone was gentle.

What could he do? Nodding was obviously impossible if they were to get into a relationship, as much as Alec thought would be nice. The Clave didn’t approve of homosexual relationships, “No. Except for Clary and Izzy.”

“Not your parents?”

Alec shook his head.

“Jace?”

Alec panicked, because Jace was the one person who could never know. “No,” his voice unsteady.

Magnus considered he information for a moment. “So, do you like me? Because if I were to become a one-time fling of yours, that wouldn’t be very nice.”

There was a long silence between them, before Alec could come to a nice conclusion and answer.

“Yeah, I do.”

Magnus started playing with Alec’s hair with both hands, staring (fondly?! or maybe it was just Alec's vivid imagination acting up) into his eyes.  “You have gorgeous eyes, did you know that?”

“Is there something wrong with them being blue?”

“The Lightwoods. All green-eyed monsters,” he grinned.

“Well then, I get a prize for being special!” Alec smiled, before he tried to tone it down a bit. He was acting a little too childish, and he wasn’t sure Magnus might appreciate that.

Apparently, Magnus did like it, seeing as his reply to that was, “You’re adorable, you know that?”

Alec blushed hard, squirming away from Magnus’ touch and tried to disappear into the sofa. “Um,” he spoke coherently, “I’ll go home first. So yeah. Good night.”

Magnus leaned in. “Good night? Says the person who visits me at 2am in the morning and tells me good night? Really?”

Looking down apologetically, Alec mumbled, “It was a spur of the moment thing…”

“Not that I’m complaining, darling,” Magnus smirked, and planted his lips onto Alec’s forehead for a quick kiss.

The response garnered was very unexpected. Alec’s face exploded into colour for the umpteenth time that night, his hands quickly flying to cradle the place that had been pecked by Magnus’… _lips._ Alec stared up at Magnus shyly, feeling the warm tinge around the area and flushed harder.

“Alec, darling,” Magnus muttered softly, “You’ve never been kissed?”

Alec couldn’t reply. He didn’t trust his voice. What if Magnus didn’t like his partner to be so inexperienced?

Magnus took ahold of both cheeks again, and the action forced Alec’s eyes open in surprise.

He leaned in, closer, closer… and before he knew it, those same lips that had been on his forehead mere seconds before were now on his, soft and gentle.

Alec resisted the urge to hide in a hole somewhere and tried to breathe, the closeness so unexpected and the act of being kissed so foreign to him.

Magnus pulled back after a few seconds and stared into his eyes, and this time Alec stared back.

“I guess that’s enough for today, then.” Magnus whispered, knocking his forehead against Alec’s, “You’d better get going.”

His lips were burning, his heart pounding, and if he didn’t leave at that very moment he was sure he was going to make a fool of himself very soon.

“Um, yeah,” he whispered back and slowly stood up, “I guess I’ll be going now.”

Alec turned towards the door absently, nor daring to steal another quick glance at Magnus and his admittedly breathtaking face, and almost banged into the door in his haste to leave.

Magnus chuckled, watching as Alec begun to flush and get flustered at his clumsiness, and turned him around to face him. Quick and sneaky, he pressed their lips together for a few seconds and winked, whispering into Alec’s ear, “ _Call me.”_

A set of numbers settled themselves into the back of Alec’s hand. A phone number.

Alec flushed, opened the door, and fled.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec is happy yet insecure over the previous day's events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sort of a standalone? Writing this is fun. :)

Alec rushed back to the institute and headed straight to his room as quietly as he could, before closing and locking the door. All the while, he had this telling grin on his face that didn’t seem to be able to go away, no matter how much he tried. He quickly flung himself onto the bed and buried his face into his pillow, sighing happily at the comfort.

Images of what had just happened began to flood through his mind, causing him to cringe from his utter awkwardness, and then there was the wonderful thing that happened after that-

He tried to stop himself from thinking back to the most recent events after his stupid awkwardness and failure at conversing with the gorgeous warlock, but the small part of him that wanted to relieve that moment seemed to take over and he allowed himself to relish in the memory of

-the kisses, which made him feel extremely self-conscious of his inexperience but also made him feel very, very good and got his heart thumping at an alarming rate, but not in a bad way.

He could still feel the warmth of where the warlock’s lips had been moments before, the foreign softness reminding him of what and exactly whose they were.

Alec let out a rather unmanly squeal at the thought, pressing his now-flaming-cheeks into the pillow a bit harder.

It was hard to not think about it, that so gorgeous a man would actually consider plain, boring Alec and go so far as to treat him kindly and even kiss him, even after his friends had probably offended him quite a bit hours before.

Suddenly remembering the last two words that Magnus had whispered into his ear (which tickled), Alec quickly brought his left palm right in front of his face and smiled again.

The numbers were in glittery gold, the elegant font they were written in most certainly Magnus’ handwriting. At the end, he had even gone so far to include a cute happy face that Alec couldn’t help but chuckle at.

He reached into his pocket and quickly retrieved his phone, carefully inputting each and every number one at a time so there was no chance he had gotten any number wrong. He named the new contact “Magnus”.

Alec had planned to type “Warlock Bane” instead, in case anyone suddenly decided to steal his phone and look through everything he had in there (which wasn’t a lot, so they might and could read his messages within 15 seconds and look through his contacts in 2 seconds). Alec didn’t really care too much for his phone and didn’t bother using it for anything other than setting up meetings with his siblings or calling the pizza guy. It would therefore be a huge surprise to see an extra number on his contact list and he wasn’t quite sure that he would get away with it if Isabelle did see Magnus’ name on his phone for whatever reason there might be.

…

What?

…

Okay. He admitted it. He was sort of hoping Magnus would text him sometimes. Maybe.

A guy can hope, can’t he?

He figured it would be nice to see Magnus’ name flashing on his screen, as opposed to a cold “Warlock Bane”, and so “Magnus” it would be.

Alec grinned again, blushing as he touched his lips where the warlock’s own had been.

I hope I can see him soon, were Alec’s last thoughts as he tenderly brushed his fingers against the phone number on his palm, before exhaustion took over and sent him into a deep sleep. 

* * *

 “-lec. Alec!”

Groggily, he swatted the person’s hand away in annoyance and grumbled for a good ten more seconds before he opened his eyes sleepily. “What.”

“Get up, I’m making breakfast today. It’s going to get cold if you don’t go downstairs and eat it. Now. At this very second.” Isabelle rolled her eyes, proceeding to poke his cheek playfully. “Come on!”

Alec inwardly shuddered. Isabelle’s breakfasts were all extremely… interesting. There were some concoctions that were her own inventions, which he was sure his sister hadn’t bothered tasting before cooking it for her family.

They weren’t the best stuff to have in the mornings, and anyway it wasn’t as if he felt like eating yet. “It’s fine, Izzy,” he yawned hugely, “I’m going to skip breakfast. You and Jace can handle things on your own, so I’m not worried. Let me sleep in today?”

“Come on! I even cooked for you!” Isabelle whined at her wasted effort. “At least eat something first before you go back to sleep!”

Nope. Alec would rather die than eat it. It would probably result in a very untimely death. He opened his eyes long enough to stare her in the eye.

“You can eat more today then. Night.” Alec closed his eyes once more, holding on to his very comfortable pillow, proceeding to ignore his sister. Sleep was more important then dying at the moment.

He heard Isabelle frown in annoyance, before she finally gave up and left, closing the door quietly behind her. The corner of his lips turned up in a sudden smile, which turned into a yawn again. Izzy was being sweet Izzy even if she grumbled at him all the time. He loved his sister.

Alec began feeling for his phone sleepily (which had disappeared under the pillow that night), thinking of looking through his texts and checking if there were any specific missions or tasks from the Clave.

Sliding past the screen lock page immediately brought him to Magnus’ contact, and well, it made him feel much, much more awake now. Instead, he had this dopey, tingly, happy and plain weird feeling in his stomach he didn’t quite understand.

Whatever.

He quickly sent Magnus a message for the fun of it, wondering how the warlock would reply.

 _Alec at 8:38_  
Hi

He sent the message without much thought and just lay down comfortably on the bed, waiting for a reply.

He didn’t have to wait long.

 _Magnus at 8:45_  
Morning, darling. :) Miss me??

OK, wow, Alec wasn’t quite sure he was used to the way Magnus was addressing him. “Darling”…. That sounded much too intimate for someone he hadn’t known past a day.

 _Alec at 8:48_  
Can you not call me darling? It feels really weird.

 _Magnus at 8:49_  
Aren’t we dating now? Can’t I give you cute pet names? You break my heart, Alec.

Alec was feeling terribly confused at the moment. He didn’t really mind the pet names or anything, it just made him feel guilty for trying to go out with someone he didn’t actually know very well. And there was this weird, instant attraction to Magnus.

He called Magnus. The man picked up on the second ring.

“Yes, darling?” came the warlock’s voice, and Alec was too stunned to be able to reply for a few seconds.

“Um,” Alec replied, getting increasingly uncomfortable. “I-I think, I-I mean I’m so sorry.

“Yes?”

“I mean I’m really sorry. I don’t really think I was myself last night. I don’t really know what I was doing or why I even went to your house and-“

“Do you think everything was a mistake?”

“…”

“Do you think coming to my party was the wrong decision?”

Alec thought, yes. Yes. But no, it wasn’t, because it helped Jace and Clary a lot. He couldn’t reply either.

Magnus kept talking, though. “I doubt someone coming all the way to my apartment at 2 in the morning just to ask me something I said jokingly, was a mistake.”

He paused. “Are you listening, Alec?”

Alec nodded, but suddenly remembered that Magnus couldn’t see him. “Yeah,” he mumbled.

“Do you hate me? Dislike me?” the warlock continued quietly.

Alec didn’t know where this conversation going and could only whisper, “No,” half hoping Magnus would and wouldn’t hear him, at the same time.

“Do you like me, then?”

Alec was stunned for a moment. Did he? The man was cool and good-looking and smooth, and it would be a lie to say that he didn’t like Magnus. But then again, how about Jace?

“Maybe?”

“Alec… you told me quite clearly that you liked me last night. Was that all a lie? All on a whim? I told you, I don’t do things like this half-heartedly.”

Alec couldn’t help feeling this deep, crushing guilt at his words. He had told Magnus that he found Magnus very likeable in a non-platonic way, but all of his actions the night before were so unlike him. Unlike Alec. He might have been a little drunk, to be honest. That might explain his uncertainty and wavering feelings now.

“It-It wasn’t entirely a lie. I think I might have been a bit drunk yesterday, so I might have been acting a bit weirdly. Maybe.” Alec stopped talking for a moment, hesitating and thinking for a while. Magnus didn’t seem to have anything to say either.

“I was thinking that this is going a bit fast, you know? I haven’t even heard of your name until yesterday, and suddenly we’re dating and it’s just really weird. I don’t know you that well either.”

He could almost hear the smile in Magnus’ voice as he spoke. “Then the best way to rectify this is to start off as friends, yes?”

Alec could deal with friends. Friends was nice. Friends was good especially when the guy was very handsome and likeable. Yes.

“Yes. I mean, sure. So…”

“Want to meet up? We could just talk. Are you up for it?”

Alec’s stomach was doing a happy flip now, insecurity and confusion now completely replaced by bubbling excitement. “Yeah! OK! What time?”

“Lunch? Around twelve thirty? We could talk over lunch at this café I really like a lot. It has a nice atmosphere. I’ll send you directions for it in a minute. Yeah?”

Magnus had a very nice voice. Very very charming voice. “Sure.” Alec gulped.

“See you later then, Alexander. Dress nice!”

Alec made a sound in his throat to acknowledge this and quickly hung up.

Wow. OK. Talk. Lunch with Magnus. That’s nice.

Everything is nice. Life is good. Okay.

Alec suddenly scowled. _What happened to my vocabulary?_


End file.
